NWA School For Dogs

We have two fur babies now but we initially reached out to Shanthi and NWA School for dogs because of our first one. She was a handful and as first time full-responsibility dog owners, we were under prepared by a lot. I, in particular, was really struggling and needed a plan. Shanthi got us that plan in a private session and we ended up taking that pup to all the obedience classes that are offered at NWA School for Dogs. Highly highly highly recommend them. Dog training is as much about training people how to train dogs as it is training dogs, and they do this effectively, speaking to each client in language they understand and with breed-specific advice where applicable. They teach people how to have good pet dogs, which is all we really hoped for out of our first. Our second we have higher aspirations for, within what she’s capable of, but we fully intend to have her as a pet as well, and will be shortly attending the puppy classes again, for socialization if nothing else. At NWA School for Dogs, we have never felt pressured to do anything we didn’t feel comfortable doing or ethical, like using aversives or corrections. We were able to be positive reinforcement with the understanding that sometimes the dog needs to be told “No,” and sometimes we need a break and the dogs need to be put up. Shanthi does an excellent job of being empathetic to real lived scenarios and providing actionable insight to help us live in better harmony with our pups while also having our boundaries respected. She does this in the class environment as well, allowing us all to learn from a specific scenario, which I see as a huge upside. I trust NWA School for Dogs with my dogs, my babies, and with myself and my learning to be a better trainer and handler. I look forward to working with them more and learning from them.

Shanti is absolutely amazing. She is passionate about her work, sympathetic, and breaks down all the lessons into very simple, easy to understand concepts. I have a highly reactive German shepherd puppy, and it often feels overwhelming when trying to desensitize her around other dogs. Sometimes it feels like it’s not even possible.. but after just two lessons I feel so much more relaxed and equipped with all kinds of skills and training exercises/games that I can practice with my dog. I’m about to move out of state and Shanti even put in the work to help me find a trainer in a new area that will help build on what we’ve worked on thus far. I can’t recommend her enough!

My dog Luna and I absolutely love NWA School for Dogs. I took Luna to the puppy class when she was 4 months old. She became a completely different dog during the course of that class. We continued to work with her after the class and enrolled her in the advanced manners class. Again Luna completely changed for the better while in the class. Shanthi is amazing and is so good at what she does. She works on what your dog needs and truly cares about your dog succeeding. Luna absolutely loves her and loves attending class. Because we love this place so much we are actually about to start a 3rd six week course here. I can not say more good things about this place.